"Your daughter is having some kind of public execution today, aren't you going to watch?"
MADAO Kuzan chugged a bottle of beer, then drunkenly exhaled a plume of alcohol fumes towards Neptune.
Ever since Sakazuki became Fleet Admiral, he had sent Kuzan to infiltrate the Blackbeard Pirates, and it was hard to say how much personal animosity was involved.
However, compared to his own disability, Sakazuki had managed to repair the hole in his abdomen, and his strength had subtly advanced further.
So Kuzan had also given up, treating it as a publicly funded vacation, and occasionally came to drink with Neptune.
"Nani?" Neptune's face turned serious upon hearing this: "After we finish drinking, we'll ride a whale for a joyride? No problem!"
Raising his glass, Neptune also chugged a beer, getting even more drunk than Kuzan.
"I said Her Majesty Shirahoshi is having some kind of public execution, a guillotine in eight sections!" Kuzan repeated, raising his voice.
"Oh… oh! You mean Shirahoshi!" This time, the bleary-eyed Neptune finally understood what Kuzan was saying.
"That… listen to me, I have no way of dealing with that child now. She doesn't listen to me at all anymore; she wants to learn everything from Nero."
"If it weren't for Nicuss's immense prestige now, with no idiots causing trouble… she would even want to learn from Nero and set up ten guillotines at the entrance… to chop off the heads of those wicked villains… boo hoo hoo…"
As he spoke, Neptune was overcome with sorrow. It hadn't been that long… she had only gone to Nicuss for a few years of advanced study… she was supposed to be learning to control the power of the Sea Emperor… why?
"Why did my adorable Shirahoshi become like that Nero… boo hoo hoo… glug glug…"
Neptune cried and drank, expressing his incomprehension at Shirahoshi, who had returned from her studies at Nicuss and swiftly seized power.
Especially on the day Shirahoshi ascended the throne, Nero even bestowed upon her the title of Sea Empress.
"Well~ every family has its own troubles!" Kuzan raised his glass and clinked it with his.
"Idiot! Can't you see the wine is gone? Fill it up for me!" Neptune finished his drink, angrily smashed his oak mug, and yelled at the bartender.
The bartender was already used to it; both MADAOs were regular customers here, exuding an aura of uselessness, yet their identities were terrifyingly high.
"Hai~ hai~ if you two don't go soon, the beheading ceremony will be over." The bartender picked up the mug and said to them helplessly.
"What kind of ridiculous name is 'Beheading Ceremony'? Why does it sound like a party?" Kuzan swayed as he stood up.
"Hmm… isn't it a party?" Neptune also struggled to stand steady.
"If you say it's a party… it's a bit subtle?"
"Alright, then the next stop will be here!" Neptune waved his hand, telling the bartender to pack the drinks.
"My brother Kuzan, let's go… set, set off!"
The two drunkenly boarded a whale and swam towards the plaza… "How was your rest at the palace yesterday, Lia? Really, why did Momo have to go to that Kaido's side?"
Inside the carriage, Shirahoshi held Artoria in her arms, asking with concern.
"It was very good, like being home. By the way… Sister Shirahoshi, for criminals, you can just kill them directly. Using a guillotine specifically…"
Artoria frowned, looking at Shirahoshi disapprovingly; doing so was too cruel.
"Don't you know? This is an old tradition of Nicuss. To deter enemies, the tragic state of criminals is made public."
Shirahoshi looked at Artoria in her arms, explaining earnestly.
It wasn't exactly a lie; when Nicuss was closed off, this was a basic operation.
Nobles and emperors would hunt pirates and hang them on gallows, using the pirates' bounty as bragging fodder.
"Adult Nero also formed a bond with the Roger Pirates this way back then, and then decided to go out to sea."
"Is that so?" Artoria was a bit surprised, not expecting such a connection.
She immediately changed her stance and agreed: "Then there's no problem with that. My Imperial Father can't be wrong!"
This pleased Shirahoshi greatly. She squinted and smiled brightly: "Right?"
Van der Decken, being dragged behind the carriage, was in tears. Why don't you stick to your principles a little longer?
Not long after, they arrived at the plaza.
The place was packed with people, all there to watch the spectacle.
Nero's policies had turned Fish-Man Island into a paradise, with peaceful living and abundant resources.
If one preferred the surface, they could also take regular ships to the Empire, where seventy percent of the Merfolk Paradise residents were merfolk.
But the people living here occasionally craved some excitement: a criminal who offended Empress Shirahoshi, a guillotine full of cultural and artistic flair.
A cruel yet dramatic execution method. If it happened at your street corner, the nearby cola and popcorn business would surely explode.
Fukaboshi, exuding the aura of a gang boss, grabbed Van der Decken by the neck like a dog, lifting him onto the execution platform.
Taking a deep drag from his cigar, he looked at the bustling plaza and slowly exhaled smoke. Fukaboshi crooked a finger and instructed the merfolk executioner: "Eight sections! Her Majesty says to start chopping from the ankles."
Shaken by Fukaboshi's domineering aura, the merfolk executioner instinctively cowered and nodded repeatedly.
"Wait, coordinate with my timing when I speak. If you do a good job, there will be a generous severance pay afterwards."
Seeing that he was a bit nervous, Fukaboshi patted his back in encouragement.
Then, he refused the microphone offered by someone nearby, took a few steps forward, loosened his suit collar, and, with a deep breath, his voice instantly drowned out the clamor of the tens of thousands in the plaza.
"Today, everyone has gathered here, presumably to witness the execution of the great criminal Van der Decken IX!"
The plaza gradually quieted down, everyone looking up at Fukaboshi's speech.
"Captain of the Flying Dutchman Pirates, Van der Decken IX. All his crew members were unfortunately killed resisting arrest."
"Currently, the last one remaining is himself, a user of the Mark-Mark Fruit, who, when Her Majesty Shirahoshi, the Sea Empress, was young, manipulated her to be his ability target."
"And three days ago, at 2:24 PM, he launched a highly destructive weapon at Her Majesty. He is hereby sentenced to death."
Fukaboshi raised his hand, extending his thumb and forefinger, pointing at the ornate guillotine, and his voice boomed: "Eight sections!!"
"Oh! Oh oh!" xN
As his words fell, the entire plaza erupted in a thunderous cheer.
Only Van der Decken looked at Fukaboshi in disbelief. It was clearly just a love letter; when did it become a highly destructive weapon?
No, are they really chopping? And eight sections?
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